Game Blog: UNC falls 57-45 at No. 2 Syracuse

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UNC couldn't get out of their scoring slump long enough to make a difference as Syracuse took the 57-45 win.

4:56 second half; Syracuse 55, North Carolina 36: UNC can't get out of their scoring slump long enough to make a difference and Syracuse won't back down.

13:17 second half; Syracuse 44, North Carolina 31: North Carolina is still struggling to hold onto the ball and get it in the basket when they do. James Michael McAdoo has four points and Marcus Paige finally hit the team's first three-pointer.

Halftime; Syracuse 34, North Carolina 22: A dismal second half of the first half for UNC allowed Syracuse to take control of the game.

2:24 first half; Syracuse 32, North Carolina 18: The Tar Heels have only made one field goal in the last 9:45 minutes of play. Jerami Grant leads Syracuse with 12 points.

7:36 first half; Syracuse 21, North Carolina 17: A six-point stretch by CJ Fair, amidst a 17-7 Syracuse run, gave the Orange the lead over North Carolina.

11:18 first half; North Carolina 15, Syracuse 13: The Heels have ten points off of five Syracuse turnovers so far in the first half. James Michael McAdoo has ten points to lead the Heels and Jerami Grant has six to lead the Orange.

15:51 first half; North Carolina 8, Syracuse 4: Syracuse has four turnovers in the first four minutes of play and the Heels have taken advantage. James Michael McAdoo forced two of those turnovers with steals and has six points to lead UNC in scoring.

Early Saturday morning, North Carolina announced that forward Desmond Hubert will not play against Syracuse due to a concussion he suffered in practice Friday.

Preview: North Carolina (10-5, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) will hit the road for a third ACC game in seven days when it visits new conference member Syracuse (15-0, 2-0) on Saturday. It will be the Tar Heels' first matchup against the Orange in an ACC game.

Carolina is looking to snap a two-game losing streak, having lost at Wake Forest last Sunday night and at home on Wednesday to Miami.

The Tar Heels and Orange will tip off just after noon on Saturday in the Carrier Dome. ESPN will televise the game nationally with Dan Shulman (play-by-play) and Dick Vitale (analyst) on the call. The contest also will be carried nationally on satellite radio by XM (channel 91) and Sirius (channel 91).

It's been a busy week for the Tar Heels, who will play their second road game in seven days when they visit Syracuse, with a home game against Miami on Wednesday night as well. Carolina players also began spring semester classes on Thursday.

Syracuse is a perfect 15-0 so far this season and has won its first two ACC games at home against Miami last weekend and at Virginia Tech on Tuesday night.

Carolina leads the all-time series with Syracuse, 4-3. Saturday's game between the Tar Heels and the Orange will mark their second meeting in the last 26 seasons (since Nov. 21, 1987).

The only meeting between Carolina and Syracuse since Nov. 1987 came on Nov. 20, 2009. It was the championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y., and the Orange seized control of what had been a close game to win 87-71.

In the meeting on Nov. 21, 1987, Carolina beat Syracuse 96-93 in overtime in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic in Springfield, Mass. Freshman Pete Chilcutt started the game and posted 14 points and 13 rebounds while hitting a jumpshot at the buzzer to force overtime.

Carolina has an all-time record of 8-1 in the Carrier Dome, but only one of those games was played against Syracuse (an 87-64 regular season win on Dec. 10, 1983).

The Tar Heels are 7-1 in NCAA Tournament play in the Carrier Dome. Carolina split two games in Syracuse in the 1983 NCAAs and went 2-0 there in 1991, 1997 and 2005 (advancing to the Final Four each of those years). Most recently, Carolina advanced to the 2005 Final Four with a 67-66 win over Villanova in the Sweet 16 and an 88-82 win over Wisconsin in the East Regional final.

The Tar Heels also advanced to the 1997 Final Four through Syracuse, beating California in the Sweet 16 and Louisville in the regional final. The win over the Cardinals was the 879th and final win in Dean Smith's coaching career. UNC began its 1991 NCAA Final Four run in Syracuse, beating Northeastern and Villanova in the East Regional first and second rounds.

After Saturday's game, the Tar Heels will have a week off before hosting Boston College on Saturday Jan. 18 at noon in the Smith Center.

Sally1023Jan 11, 2014

And I'm sure all the other teams in the ACC (whoever they are) will give her one.

iamcousinboogerJan 11, 2014

early exit Roy:

Mary Willingham deserves a medal and that worthless NCAA should be dismantled.

Sally1023Jan 11, 2014

View quoted thread

I'm sorry the Heels had another bad game but Syracuse is amazing. Don't have a dog in the fight but will watch Duke-Syracuse should be very interesting...BTW, I'm 66 and have been watch UNC basketball from the time sports were on TV, but if you put a gun to my head. I could not name all the teams in the ACC. sooo sad :(

— Posted by Sally Bethune

So let me get this straight, you made all A's in college and had Jennifer write your papers?!

jhilfiker2001Jan 11, 2014

View quoted thread

well we finally lost to a team ranked above us on their home court. Had to happen sometime, I suppose.

GO HEELS!!!#HEELBLOOD!!!

— Posted by ClassyHill

Big shocker for a team hardly worthy of a NIT bid.

Sally1023Jan 11, 2014

I'm sorry the Heels had another bad game but Syracuse is amazing. Don't have a dog in the fight but will watch Duke-Syracuse should be very interesting...BTW, I'm 66 and have been watch UNC basketball from the time sports were on TV, but if you put a gun to my head. I could not name all the teams in the ACC. sooo sad :(

early exit RoyJan 11, 2014

My man Vitale. I don't care what they say. Roy has graduated 10 out of 11 seniors. Doesn't mention they graduated without having to attend class. I imagine most coaches could do the same thing if the ncaa turned a blind eye to their program. I made all A's in college. Didn't turn in any paper work. I got a female friend ( Jennifer, if you know what I mean) to write my papers and I copied other people's test. In unc's view I earned those A's.

iamcousinboogerJan 11, 2014

"I smell an upset."

Karma laughed and decided otherwise.

ClassyHillJan 11, 2014

View quoted thread

Heels shoot 30.8% against Miami, and 39% today, but offensive boards kills them again. They were a better team without McDonald and he played 21 min and scored 2 points. Way too many turnovers. This is not a bad team, but right now they are playing really bad. I'm starting to think Hicks needs to play more and Meeks needs to ride pine.

ClassyHillJan 11, 2014

well we finally lost to a team ranked above us on their home court. Had to happen sometime, I suppose.

GO HEELS!!!#HEELBLOOD!!!

JamesRamBondJan 11, 2014

Heels shoot 30.8% against Miami, and 39% today, but offensive boards kills them again. They were a better team without McDonald and he played 21 min and scored 2 points. Way too many turnovers. This is not a bad team, but right now they are playing really bad. I'm starting to think Hicks needs to play more and Meeks needs to ride pine.